Recently after the closure of Jesture, featuring Jadé Fadojutimi at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London, the excitement of the solo show continues to oscillate. Fadjoutimi’s work addresses the socio-economic and political climate we have lived in during these months of lockdown. The London-based artist (and fabulous dresser) is known to delve in concepts of identity through emotional exploration, and in this relatively small yet deeply conceptual collection of grand, colorful, and complex oil paintings on canvas.
There exists a glorious world. Its name? The Land of Sustainable Burdens, 2020, Oil and Stick on Canvas (190 x 230 cm, 74 3/4 x 90 1/2 in), Courtesy of the Artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
Fadojutimi’s work is taking flight and has been showing around the world, as her name and concept are ever so relevant in today’s worldwide conditions. Jesture is the second solo show featuring Fadojutimi at Houldsworth, this time presenting new levels of abstraction and immersive coloration to the canvas that truly reflect upon evoked feelings birthed from months of isolation.
My Fissured Glow, 2020, Oil and Oil Stick on Canvas (170 x 180 cm, 66 7/8 x 70 7/8 in), Courtesy of the Artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
The exhibition presented an immersive experience of seven paintings, each of massive scale and hosting a very different ecosystem of colors that dialogue with each other. Fadjoutimi’s looseness in brushstrokes engages the viewer in a dance of shapes, curves, and intersections, which are in a way a reflection of the artist herself. In the exhibition, the immensity of each canvas takes over your attention as a viewer until you’re finding yourself in dialogue with your own identity. This hypnotic engagement of deep introspection is not accidentally rising, in lieu of the end of the first wave of the pandemic.
Thank you my love, I would never have discovered it without you, 2020, Oil and Oil Stick on Canvas, Two Parts, 86 5/8 in (total), Courtesy of the Artist and Pippy Housldsworth Gallery, London
Interestingly titled, Jesture, explores themes of identity and self, as mentioned above, mainly in response to the worldwide lockdown. Fadjoutimi’s work delves into the concept of identity, specifically self-acknowledged identity; how fluid these terms are, and how it’s distributed in society. These concepts are central to her work, of which we see is further developed in the just past exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth.
Vibrant and motivated, the artist is constantly inspired by her surroundings, objects she collects that resonate with her in some way. With a variation in use of oil paint and oil sticks, the artist’s movement is seen all across the canvas, from end to end, as a single brushstroke can easily come to measure 70 inches.
Vital Abundance, 2020, Oil and Stick on Canvas, 43 1/14 x 55 1/8 in, Courtesy of the Artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
Fadjoutimi’s stroke movement is present in each of her paintings, where the artist generates an immersive environment. In an interview with Vogue, the artist mentions how her friends tell her she looks like she’s dancing while she paints which makes sense, given her habit of listening to music while she works. The dialogue of color, becomes a direct reflection of this mood the artist is in during her creative process, so the self and the concept come together on the canvas.
Mosaicked Utterance, 2020, Oil and Stick on Canvas, 63 x 70 7/8 in , Courtesy of the Artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
Overall, this was a wonderful exhibition that featured true emerging talent speaking out in relation to the current worldwide socio-political situation we all share. Make sure to check out more details about this and other exhibitions at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery website.
